Havelock's Cooper shines in Senior Night victory

Havelock quarterback Pharoh Cooper made sure his Senior Night would be one to remember.

Adam Thompson

Havelock football coach Jim Bob Bryant appreciates the support his team receives from the community.

The football stadium was packed on Friday, not just for the game, but to pay tribute to Janie Queen – a 2010 Havelock graduate who lost her life in a car crash on Thursday afternoon.

Ribbons were been handed out, a moment of silence took place and balloons were set free in honor of Queen, a former Havelock cheerleader and softball player.

Bryant said Havelock is a tight-knit community.

It showed on Friday night.

“We are very close knit,” Bryant said. “That’s one of the reasons I came here was for the support that fans give to our school and athletes. I’m happy to be coaching at Havelock with a bunch of great kids, great coaches and great fans.”

The Rams went on to win the Coastal 3A Conference for the fourth-straight season with a 67-13 victory over West Carteret on Senior Night.

Senior Pharoh Cooper showed every bit of his Shrine Bowl-caliber.

Cooper threw four touchdown passes, ran for two more and returned a punt for a score.

“(Pharoh) is a great football player and he’s turned into a great quarterback,” Bryant said. “When you have weapons around him, like we have, and an offensive line that blocks as well as they do, it makes play-calling a lot easier.”

The University of South Carolina commit threw for 212 yards, all in the first half, and connected on three touchdown passes to senior C.J. Lindsey (42, 41 and 57 yards).

“We were on point tonight,” Cooper said. “We had two pass plays that we designed to get the ball to C.J. He was Johnny on the spot when he caught the ball.”

The second-ranked Rams (9-1, 6-0 Coastal) jumped out to a 61-6 lead at halftime.

Senior A.J. Coplon hauled in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Cooper, and returned a punt 51 yards to the end zone.

London Duvall scored on a pair of rushing touchdowns (17 and three yards).

“We pretty much dominated that first half and finished,” Cooper said. “Every time we touched the ball, we scored. Everybody did their jobs.”